The present invention relates to a voice recording and reproducing apparatus digitizing inputted voice and recording them in a recording medium, an information processing apparatus being connectable to such a voice recording and reproducing apparatus, and a recording medium having recorded an information processing program causing a computer to function as such an information processing apparatus.
Generally, the voice recording and reproducing apparatus, that is, the tape recorder has an application in dictation recording. In this dictation recording the tape recorder is used in various ways, for example, the content of a letter to be sent is recorded on an audio tape by a tape recorder, this audio tape is delivered to a secretary or the like, and this secretary or the like plays back the tape, listens to the voice and types the letter, or the content of a meeting is recorded and subsequently minutes of the meeting are taken by playing back the tape and listening to the recorded content.
And in recent years, in the voice recording and reproducing apparatus, due to demand for a miniaturized apparatus there have been developed apparatus using a semiconductor memory instead of a magnetic tape as a recording medium.
Among such voice recording and reproducing apparatus recording voice data in the semiconductor memory, there are some having a composition in which the semiconductor memory cannot be detached from the main body of the apparatus. In such an apparatus, when desiring to deliver recorded voice data to a secretary or the like and to have a document typed, that is, when desiring to use voice data recorded in this semiconductor memory in an external apparatus such as a voice reproducing apparatus other than the concerned apparatus, the voice data is transmitted to the external apparatus via a cable connected between both apparatuses.
Here, since personal computers (PCs) are widely applied recently, documents are usually typed by a word processor operating on this PC. Generally this PC is equipped with a sound function and is capable of reproducing and outputting voice data by a speaker connected thereto. Therefore, a method of transmitting recorded data from the voice data recording and reproducing apparatus to the PC and type-inputting the voice data by a word processor with reproducing them on the PC is now used.
And recently, PCs having employed an interface specification permitting connection of many devices called USB (Universal Serial Bus) based upon a so-called Plug and Play function are widely applied.
By the way, in a voice recording and reproducing apparatus using a semiconductor memory as described above as a recording medium, when voice data are recorded, they are recorded in the semiconductor memory as a voice data file to which header information has been added. This header information includes many kinds of information such as information for identifying the recorder of the voice data and the typist, recording mode, recording date or the like.
With respect to information which the operator can set optionally among this header information, since the voice recording and reproducing apparatus is provided with only several operating buttons, it is required to select and designate such information from a hierarchically structured menu, what is very complicated and is liable to lead to operational failures.